Dear Hiring Manager,

I am excited to apply for the UX Researcher position at your company. With a strong background in delivering data-driven insights, I am eager to contribute to shaping the user experience and championing the voice of the customer within your organization.

My experience spans multiple industries, including healthcare (Providence, University Hospitals), technology (Microsoft), and retail (Lowe’s, Signet Jewelers, Royal Jordanian). Throughout my career, I have tackled diverse problem domains, enhancing user experiences through research methodologies applied at various stages of the product development cycle.

Research Approach

I begin with a discovery session to identify research objectives, user needs, and business goals. Based on these insights, I select and apply the most effective research methods, ensuring a user- centered design approach that drives meaningful improvements.

After designing the study, I recruit the right users and conduct the sessions. I analyze the data and synthesize it into a compelling presentation where each slide tells a user story, highlighting key insights, severity, and scope. I incorporate short video clips to showcase real user struggles, reinforced by visual metrics.

To guide the audience to critical pain points, I use captions, severity scales, and data visualizations that provide clarity. Each insight concludes with an actionable takeaway to drive meaningful improvements.

I deliver these insights and recommendations to multiple teams and leaders across the organization, leveraging strong storytelling skills to drive customer-centric decision-making.

Industrial and Academic Experiences

Providence

In my current role as a Senior UX researcher at Providence, I honed my skills in benchmark studies, iterative evaluative usability research, and generative research to change the path of healthcare for good.

I led user research initiatives that influenced patient-facing digital tools, improving user satisfaction and engagement. My work on the Message Assist chatbot reduced non-care-related messages by 32% in 2023 and 36% in 2024, enhancing providers efficiency.

My onsite interviews with care coordinators and oncology nurse navigators uncovered pain points in communication and patient tracking. Based on my findings, I recommended creating a central digital platform, improving communication tools, and automating tasks. These changes helped make work easier for providers and improved patient care.

Baseline and benchmarking studies to evaluate products’ performance across core tasks using specific metrics inform product enhancements, ensuring that new features align with user needs without disrupting essential functionalities.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of customer experiences, I analyze user feedback from platforms such as Apptentive Survey, the Apple App Store, and Google Play Console. In 2024, I categorized and shared over 13,400 feedback items, identifying key themes and delivering actionable insights to product teams. By creating well-structured Jira tickets, I played a critical role in driving progress and resolving multiple issues efficiently.

Microsoft

At Microsoft, I played a key role in transforming Forms Pro into Dynamics 365 Customer Voice, Microsoft’s new feedback management application. I worked closely with product managers, engineers, and designers to apply iterative feedback methods, improving user workflows and feature adoption, which directly enhanced product usability and efficiency.

Lowe’s

Through generative and evaluative studies, I researched the challenges pricing analysts faced with Promotion Planning and Forecasting tools. My recommendations improved data presentation, clarified complex information, and enhanced usability by adding automated checks, better tracking, and early alerts, which made their work easier and more accurate.

Signet Jewelers

I used all the available UX tools to enhance the customer experiences across four different websites on both desktop and mobile.

I worked on the Bridal Configurator project, which aimed to create an intuitive engagement ring customization experience. Through usability testing, heuristic evaluations, and focus groups I refined the workflow, reduced information overload, and implemented interactive features which result in nearly $2 million in revenue within the first three months post-launch.

Additionally, I conducted a dual-channel usability study to bridge the gap between printed catalogs and online shopping. My findings led to improved catalog-to-web integration and better product information display, significantly enhancing the omnichannel shopping experience.

University Hospitals

During my tenure as a User Experience Consultant at University Hospitals, I took on multiple roles, including UX researcher, designer, and information architect. I spearheaded the redesign of internal and external websites, conducting heuristic evaluations, usability testing, and stakeholder engagement sessions to improve site usability and accessibility.

I also established a usability lab to enhance search functionality, streamlining appointment booking and improving content structure based on user needs. My efforts led to a more intuitive digital experience for patients and healthcare professionals alike.

Kent State University

As a research assistant at Kent State University, I studied how people interact with large data sets on multi-touch surfaces. This helped me understand user experience and sparked my interest in researching new ways to interact with information using digital technologies. I took this further by analyzing a study where I watched videos of people sorting information in different ways. My goal was to understand the gestures and hand motions people used, which could help create a gesture language for sorting information on multi-touch surfaces. I also collaborated on a study analyzing gestures and hand motions for information triage, laying the groundwork for future research into touch-based interface interactions.

My master's project involved developing and evaluating a triage application that streamlined information categorization. My findings demonstrated that constrained environments provided a more user-friendly experience, requiring less effort while delivering more accurate results.

Royal Jordanian Airlines

I began my career as an Oracle Developer at Royal Jordanian Airlines, where I contributed to multiple projects, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, time attendance tracking, and human resource management tools. While this role honed my technical skills, I recognized the need for user involvement in the product development process—leading me to pursue a degree in UX research.

Collaboration & Impact

Collaboration is central to my approach. I work closely with product managers, designers, and engineers to integrate UX research into product roadmaps, ensuring user-centric solutions. Each quarter, I partner with cross-functional stakeholders to define a structured research roadmap, establishing clear goals and methodologies.

My expertise in UX research, combined with a passion for user-centered design, makes me an excellent fit for this role. I welcome the opportunity to discuss how my skills and experience can contribute to your team’s success.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Best regards,
Sirin Abu-Khafajah